T-Mobile USA wins big in FCC auction

T-Mobile USA announced it was a big winner in the auction held by the FCC for Advanced Wireless Service (AWS) spectrum licenses. In all, the company won 120 licenses, which cover a wide geographic area, including the continental U.S., Hawaii, Alaska, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The licenses will set T-Mobile USA back US$4.182 billion.

$4.182 billion may seem to be a hefty sum for a wireless company to pay, but you have to put in perspective what the wireless company is gaining–valuable real estate. Sure, the real estate isn't something as tangible as land for a real estate developer, but it can be just as profitable to a wireless company.

Remember, spectrum licenses to wireless companies are like additional lanes on a highway to transport goods. The more lanes a company has, the more services it can offer. This means additional broadband, video, and voice services for customers.

Great(6:40pm EST Tue Sep 19 2006)but can I get a GSM Palm 700p with built in WiFi now? – by ZorbaDaSwampMonster

Rural?(8:26am EST Wed Sep 20 2006)But will I get baisic Servisces in the Backwaters of Northern New England?

The Spectrum from the Sale of Television Bandwidth would much better serve the public by broadcasting a wireless broadband Internet to all. in that way a multitude of service could be sold over those connections to the consumers, creating jobs, and ensuring competition.

All your Spectrum Is Belong to The Corporations – by OperativeZero

hmmmmmm(12:21pm EST Wed Sep 20 2006)Will this allow T-Mobile to prevent droped calls and improve voice quality? They should really work on that before buying spectrum and adding more customers. – by 2yearContract :o(

T-Mobile(12:12pm EST Thu Sep 21 2006)It's about friggen time.Also it means the phones are gunna get better for T-Mobile. – by DWEEB SLAYER